Glossary of Sheep and Wool Terms

We will be adding to this glossary (in between knitting projects) - please email us at admin@briarpatch.co.nz if you would like us to add something specific.

Hogget

A hogget is effectively a teenage sheep aged from eight to twelve months. They still have their baby teeth and for meat purposes are defined as a lamb until they cut their adult teeth. When they cut their first two adult teeth they are then known as two tooth sheep.

Micron

Micron (also called micrometres) is the metric measurement of the diameter of an individual fibre. One micron equals one thousandth of millimetre or one millionth of a metre. The lower the micron the finer the fibre is.

The micron of wool differs between breeds of sheep and in most sheep will increase as the sheep ages.